Final drive gear for vehicles with swinging half-axles



,Jan. 24, 1939.

H. LEDW|NKA 2,145,183 i FINAL DRIYVE GEARFOR VEHICLES WITH swINGING HALF-AXLES Filed Nov. 28, 195e 2 sheets-snee; 1

Jan. 24,1939. H. LEDWINKA .2,145,183

FINAL DRIVE GEAR FOR VEHICLES WITHSWINGING HALF-AXLES Filed' Nov. 28, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 2.4, 1.939

UNITED STATES PATENT oF'FicE f FINAL DRIVE GEAR FOR VEHICLES WITH SWINGING HALF-AXLES Hans Ledwinka, Morava, Czechoslovakia- Application November 28, 1936, Serial No. 113,228

In Czechoslovakia November 30, 1935 3 Claims. (Cl. 180-73) In the case of vehicles with swingingl half axles, the fitting of the drive inhousingsand particularly the sealing thereof presents con-l` '10 easily tear, and the lubricant then escapes from` the housings and on the other hand sand, dust and other impurities penetrate, resulting in a short time in thedestructionof the axle gearin question. 'Ihe provision of spherical or cylindrical sealing surfaces has the defectthat sand.

and dust become deposited on the co-operating surfaces, of which one is always more or. less ex,' posed, whereby combined with the lubricant on the surface these surfaces are destroyed, the seal- 20 ing effect being again prejudicially' affected.

Further particulars with regard to the disad-I vantages of exposed driving members are unnecessary.

- The disadvantages of the known constructions are obviated according to the present invention by a combination of features each already partly` known. The invention resides in the drive, venclosed by a casing, the drive being composed of a crown wheel fixed on the half axle shaft, a bevel wheel engaging the crown wheel and being mountedon an axle running in the direction of trayel and a gear wheel mounted on said axle of the bevel Iwheel and which engages with a corre- I sponding gear wheel on another shaft also ru'nning in the longitudinal direction and driven directly or indirectly by the engine, the half axle swinging about the axis of said latter shaft. Further details and features of the invention will be described with reference to the constructions shown in the accompanying drawings and described below. l

In the drawings: J' Figure l shows diagrammaticallly in plan 'a pair of wheels with half axles and drive, partly in section;

Fig. 5 is a plan'. view, parts being broken away and parts being shown in horizontal section;

Figure 6 shows a plan view of one of the pairs 55 of half axles and final drive casing of Figure 4.

Figures 2 'and 3 show diagrammatically. in end -In AFigure 1, spur wheels 2 and 2' are ilxed on a main driving. shaft I. The wheels 2, 2' engage -spur wheels 3, and 3'. They are connected with the wheels 3, 3f bevel wheels 4 or I' which engage crown wheels 5 or 3'. The crown wheels 5, 5' are fixed on the inner'ends of half axle shafts 6 0r6', thev outer ends of which are connected with the driven running wheels 1 or 'I'. Each of. the drives consisting of the spurwheels 2, 3. 4, and 5, or respectively 2', 3', I', 5', is .m

, enclosed-by a housing 8 or 3', which if necessary is connectedwith the inner end of the axle tube 9 or 3' and formsthe inner'section ofthe corresponding half axles. A brake device III can be mounted on the end of the shaft I. l5 TheV casings or housings 3, 3' are oscillatable about the shaft- I by means of the bearing parts II, I2 or II', I2'. 'I'hev bearing parts I2, I2' are embraced externally by -bearings I3 or i3' on the fixed vehicle chassis o'r centre bearer, whilst in 20 their interior is arranged the shaft I. In this manner the result is attained that the spurv wheels 2, 3 are carried in the same housing and thus the engagementof the spur-wheels is not 1 affected by the adjustment or wear of the bear-` 25 ings serving 'for the guiding of the half axles.

In general the bearing parts or projections II will not directly embrace `thedriving shaft but the driving shaft will be mounted in the interior of a part mounted onthe chassis frameK 30 or carrier onthe outside-'of which are then provided the bearing surfaces for the bearing projections II. The end of a half axle opposite to the gearing can also have a bearing' projection which embraces the. gearing of the other half 35 axle. As seen from Figure 1 the gear-ings for the corresponding half axles Vare arranged on different sides of the vertical transverse plane de-v termined by the half axles'. In this way the 40 mounting of the drive is facilitated and furthermore entirely identical drives, casings and half axles can be used whereby the manufacture, maintenance and renewal of the bearings is` considerably simplified. y 45 Asshown by'Figures 2 and 3 the gear wheels,

3, 3' need not be arranged in the same horizontai plane a, aas the shaft I, it beingadvan- Vtageous for `attaining as small a distance as possible of the shafts from each other in plan, to arrange the main shaft I and the 'gear 'shafts over or under each other.

In addition` to the advantages already mentioned, the improved construction also presents the Vadvantage that for the separately lenclosed u half axle drives only a single main drive shaft need be used. A further advantage arises from the fact that by interchange of the wheels 2, 3 and 2', 3' the transmission ratio can be easily and cheaply altered. Such a variation of the transmission ratio is, with crown wheels arranged on the main longitudinal shaft and engaging the crown' wheels, only carried out with difficulty and furthermore spur-wheels are cheaper than bevel wheels.

Also, the mounting, removal and exchange of the half axles is considerably simplified and there isa greater constructive freedom with respect 4to the choice of the frame or centre bearer; the

`improved driving arrangement is adapted not only for chassis with a single tube, I, U'- or box centre bearer or girder but also for ordinary chassis frames.

The construction according to the invention can naturally be used for as many driving wheels as required on one and the same vehicle.

In the construction shown in AFigures 4, 5, and 6 a main driving shaft IB is mounted within a central longitudinal tubular chassis member I5. `ixed to the shaft I4 are the spur wheels I6 which mesh with the spur wheels Il. Each of these wheels I1 drives, by means of a differential gear I8, short intermediate shafts I and I', the ends of which carry the spur Wheels 2 and 2'.

As in the construction shown in Figure 1, the spur wheels 2 and 2 drive, by means ofthe spur wheels 3 and 3', bevel pinions il and 4 and the crown wheels 5 and 5', the half axle shafts 6 and 6' mounted in the half axles 9 and 9'.

Eyes or lugs i@ and are provided on the casings 8 land 8' which enclose the axle drives and form the ends of the half axles. These eyes or lugs are mounted on vthe casing 2| which encloses the toothed wheel I1, the differential gear I8 and the intermediate longitudinal shafts I and I. For this purpose provision is made at the casing 2| for bearing pieces 22 enclosing the shafts I and I'.

A brake drum 23 can be provided at the end of the main driving shaft I4. The short intermediate longitudinal shafts I and I' may be used, contrary to the construction shown by way of example in the drawings, for joining up the casings-of the half axles, which for their part must be firmly mounted on the chassis frame or central tube. Here, too, as in the case of the construction shown in Figure 1, the connecting gear wheels 2 and -3 may be housed in the half axle casing concerned.

The design here indicated maintains the advantage obtained by the construction shown in Figure 1, namely, that the devices for driving the various wheels are identical, thus facilitating manufacture, interchanges and repairs. The arrangement is particularly suitable for vehicles Wammes having a central chassis member as well as for vehicles having a number of pairs of wheels.

l. In driving mechanism for the wheels of divided swinging axles of motor vehicles, alongitudinally disposed rotating shaft, a pair' of halfaxle housings each including a gear case independently pivoted on said longitudinally disposed shaft, wheeled half-axles journalled in the respective half-axle housings, bevel gears on the adjacent ends of 'said half-axles, a stub shaft journalled in a bearing in each half-axle housing and having a bevel' pinion to mesh with the respective bevel gear and each stub shaft also having a spur gear, and separate spur gears on said longitudinally disposed shaft which mesh with the respective spur gears on said stub shafts, one of said stub shafts and its gears being located forward of said half-axles and the other stub shaft and its gears being located aft of the same. I

2. In driving mechanism for the wheels of divided swinging axles of motor vehicles, a longitudinally disposed rotating shaft, a pair of half-` axle housings each including a gear case independently pivoted on said longitudinally disposed shaft, wheeled half-axlesjournalled in the respective half-axle housings, bevel gears on the adjacent ends of said half-axles, a stub shaft Journalled in a bearing in each half-axle housing and having a bevel pinion to mesh with the respective bevel gear and each stub shaft also having a spur gear, and separate spur gears on said longitudinally disposed 'shaft which mesh with the respective spur gears on said stub shafts, one of said stub shafts and its gears being located forward of said half-axles and the other stub shaft and its gears being located ait of the same, said longitudinally disposed shaft comprising the main driving shaft of the vehicle.

3. In driving mechanism for the wheels of divided swinging axles of motor vehicles, a longitudinally disposed rotating shaft, a pair of halfaxle housings each including a gear case independently pivoted on said longitudinally disposed shaft, wheeled half-axles journalled in the respective half-axle housings, bevel gears on the adjacent ends of said half-axles, a stub shaft journalled in a bearing in each half-axle housing and having a bevel pinion to meshwith the respective bevel gear and each stub shaft also having a spur gear, and separate spur gears on said longitudinally disposed shaft which mesh with the respectivespur gears on said stub shafts, one of saidstub shafts and its gears being located forward of said half-axles and the other stub shaft and its gears being located aft of the same, said longitudinally disposed shaft comprising a shaft connectedvby gearing with the main driving shaft of the vehicle.

' HANS LEDWINKA. 

